The Arsenic Content of Bronchial Mucosa and Submucosa in Man

Abstract

POPULATIONs exposed to arsenic dusts and fumes have a high incidence of lung cancer according to six recent reports by Liebegott (1949), Hess (1956), Lull and Wallach (1956), Osburn (1957), Roth (1957) and Braun (1958). Additional evidence by Satterlee (1956) There are no known analyses of the arsenic content of bronchial mucosa and submucosa, however, Bailey (1957) and Sula and Zelenkova (1957) did determine the arsenic content of parenchymal lung tissue and bronchial lymph nodes. It is interesting to note that the latter two investigators found 2-70-times more arsenic in the bronchial lymph nodes than in any other organ in the body and the more anthracotic the lung and bronchial lymph nodes the higher was the arsenic content. Unfortunately, these studies did not include bronchial mucosa and submucosa, where most, if not all primary lung cancers arise. Therefore, it was felt 'that an arsenic analysis of these strata should be performed on autopsy specimens from lung cancer victims and from cadavers that showed no evidence of neoplastic disease in the respiratory system. MATERIAL FOR ANALYSESThe specimens in this study were removed from male cadavers whose ages, occupations and smoking histories can be found in Table 1. The lower trachea, carina, main stem and lobar bronchi were removed intact with their lymph nodes from 15 victims of lung cancer and from 23 cadavers who showed no evidence of neoplastic disease in the respiratory system grossly or on histological examination.The specimens were removed within 10 hours after death and the mucosa with its submucosa was stripped from the underlying fibrous tissue and placed in a Petri dish (Fig. 1). The lymph nodes were then dissected from the specimen and treated in a similar manner.